"Medicine is a social science, and politics is nothing else but medicine on a large scale"—Rudolf Virchow

December 08, 2016

PIDIE JAYA, Indonesia, Dec 8 (Reuters) - Indonesian medical teams struggled on Thursday to treat scores of people injured in a 6.5 magnitude earthquake a day after more than 100 people were killed in the worst disaster to hit the province since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

The quake toppled hundreds of buildings and left thousands of people homeless. The province of Aceh, on the northern tip of Sumatra island, has declared a two-week state of emergency.

"All the victims were crushed in collapsed buildings," said Sutopo Nugroho, a spokesman for the national disaster management agency.

Rescuers in Aceh's Pidie Jaya regency focused their search on a market complex, which suffered more damage than other parts of the town of 140,000.

The quake flattened most of the Pasar Meureudu market building, which housed dozens of shops, and rescue teams used excavators and their bare hands to pull out 23 bodies.

Victims included a bridegroom and guests due to attend a wedding party when half the complex collapsed.

"It is so sad for our family, we had prepared everything," said Rajiati, the mother of the bride. Both she and her daughter survived.

Nugroho said many buildings in the area withstood the quake but those that collapsed were probably not built in accordance with regulations. Experts also blamed poor construction.

"Initial information shows that single storey houses without reinforced internal brick or masonry walls have been damaged severely or collapsed," said Behzad Fatahi, a geological expert at the University of Technology in Sydney.

Indonesia's disaster agency said 102 people had been killed, with more than 700 injured.

December 07, 2016

PIDIE JAYA, Indonesia, Dec 7 (Reuters) - Nearly 100 people were killed and hundreds injured in Indonesia on Wednesday when a strong earthquake hit its Aceh province and rescuers used earth movers and bare hands to search for survivors in scores of toppled buildings.

Medical volunteers rushed in fading evening light to get people to hospitals, which were straining to cope with the influx of injured.

The Aceh provincial government said in a statement 93 people had died and more than 500 were injured, many seriously.

Sutopo Nugroho of Indonesia's national disaster management agency, said a state of emergency had been declared in Aceh, which sits on the northern tip of Sumatra island.

"We are now focusing on searching for victims and possible survivors," said Nugroho. His agency put the death toll at 94.

Aceh was devastated by a massive earthquake and tsunami centred on its western coast near the provincial capital, Banda Aceh, on Dec. 26, 2004. That tsunami killed 226,000 people along Indian Ocean shorelines.

Officials urged people to sleep outdoors as twilight fell, in case aftershocks caused more damage to already precarious buildings.

President Joko Widodo was expected to visit the area on Thursday, his deputy told media.

Wednesday's quake hit the east coast of the province, about 170 km (105 miles) from Banda Aceh. Nugroho said Aceh's Pidie Jaya regency, with a population of about 140,000, was worst hit.

Many victims had suffered broken bones and gashes and had to be treated in hospital corridors and hastily erected disaster tents, a Reuters witness said.

December 06, 2016

At least 25 people died and dozens were feared trapped in rubble after a strong earthquake struck off Aceh province on Indonesia’s Sumatra island on Wednesday.

Pidie Jaya district chief Aiyub Abbas confirmed the rising death toll and said hundreds of people in the district have been injured and dozens of buildings collapsed.

Rescue operations were under way to find those believed trapped beneath the rubble, with heavy machinery being used to shift the debris but Abbas said there was an urgent need for excavation equipment and emergency supplies.

The shallow 6.5-magnitude quake hit just north of the small town of Reuleuet, according to the US Geological Survey (USGS). There was no tsunami alert.

The quake struck at dawn as some in the predominantly Muslim region prepared for morning prayers, local officials said.

Said Mulyadi, deputy district chief of Pidie Jaya, said seven children were among the dead, with a local hospital overwhelmed by the number of people arriving with injuries.

“The hospital here couldn’t take the patients, so we sent some to the neighbouring district,” he said.

Mosques, homes and shops were flattened in the quake, with images from the worst-hit areas showing significant damage.

Local resident Hasbi Jaya, 37, said his family was asleep when the powerful quake struck. “We immediately ran outside the house but it crumbled. Everything from the roof to the floor collapsed, and was destroyed,” he said.

“I looked around and all my neighbours’ houses were also completely destroyed.”

The local disaster management agency said rescue efforts were under way to save those trapped beneath collapsed buildings.

“Some people are still trapped inside shophouses and we are trying to evacuate them using heavy machines and by hand,” local agency head Puteh Manaf said.

Seismologists said the earthquake was felt across much of Aceh province, which was devastated by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.

An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 hit northern Japan on Tuesday (Nov 22), the Japan Meteorological Agency said, generating a tsunami that hit the nation's northern Pacific coast.

The US Geological Survey initially put Tuesday's quake at a magnitude of 7.3 but downgraded it to 6.9.

The earthquake, which was felt in Tokyo, was centred off the coast of Fukushima prefecture at a depth of about 10km and struck at 5.59am (4.59am Singapore time), the agency said.

A 60cm tsunami had been observed at Fukushima's Onahama Port and a 90cm tsunami at Soma soon after, public broadcaster NHK said. The region is the same that was devastated by a tsunami following a massive earthquake in 2011.

A tsunami warning of up to 3m has been issued.

An announcer on NHK urged residents along the coast to move to high ground. "Please flee immediately," the male voice said with urgency.

The vast majority of deaths in the 2011 disaster resulted from the tsunami, and NHK told viewers to heed the lessons of that day.

Tokyo Electric Power Co, known as Tepco, said on its website that no damage from the quake has been confirmed at any of its power plants, although there have been blackouts in some areas. Tepco's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant caused Japan's worst nuclear disaster when it was knocked out by the 2011 tsunami.

Tohoku Electric Power Co said there was no damage to its Onagawa nuclear plant, while the Kyodo news agency reported there was no irregularities at the Tokai Daini nuclear plant in Ibaraki Prefecture.

Television footage showed ships moving out to sea from Fukushima harbours as tsunami warning signals wailed.

An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture rocked widespread areas early Tuesday, triggering tsunami warnings.

Tsunami warnings were issued along the Pacific coast, including Aomore, Iwate, Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures. People have been warned to evacuate immediately to high ground in Fukushima Prefecture, where waves may reach 3 meters.

The 5:59 a.m. temblor had an intensity of minus-5 on the Japanese seismic scale to 7.

Twitter, where I first saw reports, is covering it on #JapanQuake, among other hashtags.

November 14, 2016

New Zealand battled severe storms and violent aftershocks as the country struggled to recover from a devastating earthquake that swallowed roads, twisted railway lines and left towns and cities smashed and deserted.

Tens of thousands of people fled their homes in the middle of the night on Monday to seek higher ground following a tsunami alert covering the entire east coast, although the warnings were later lifted. Across the country, two people have been declared dead.

Prime minister John Key was quoted as saying the damage bill from the earthquake was likely to be at least “a couple of billion dollars”.

“It’s hard to believe that the bill is going to be less than a couple of billion,” he said.

The Red Cross flagged a huge humanitarian challenge in the South Island, saying its volunteers were struggling to reach affected regions.

Worst hit was Kaikoura, a coastal town of about 2,000 people famous for whale watching, which had been almost completely isolated with roads closed and phone lines down.

A state of emergency was declared there and six people with significant injuries were airlifted out. Police said one person died in Kaikoura and another in Mount Lyford, a nearby ski resort.

The depth of the devastation has been linked to two significant shakes under the South Island, first a 7.5-magnitude earthquake just after midnight followed by a hefty 6.8-magnitude aftershock during the day.

• A tsunami warning is in place, but has been downgraded. People in low-lying areas on the east coast of both the North and South Island who were warned to move to higher ground have been told they can return home, if there are no barriers in place

• Authorities have advised Wellington residents to stay away from the central city today, with concerns forecasted high winds could cause further damage